3.10.4 Control of Finances

Comprehensive Standard:   The institution exercises appropriate controls over all its financial resources.
 
X Compliance
    Partial Compliance
    Non-compliance

Narrative:

Oversight of the financial operations of the institution is by the Vice President for Finance & Administration (CFO) [1] and the Provost of the University [2].  The CFO is required to have an advanced degree in business or a related field and at least 7 years of progressive experience in higher education and financial business matters. The Provost of the University is also the Vice President of Academic Affairs and must be a tenured faculty member and have experience in administering the affairs of the University.

Three major units of the university that are involved in the control of university financial resources are the Office of Budget and Planning, the Financial Information System Office (Spectrum), and the Office of the Comptroller. [3]

Based on authority from the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, the Budget Office under the direction of Chip Hill as the Budget Director [4] and reporting to the Associate Vice President for Finance and Administration [5] is responsible for the development, implementation, maintenance, and control of University budgets, based on allocations approved through appropriate academic and administrative processes. The budget consists of funding from general, departmental services, sponsored, auxiliary, and agency operations for Resident Instruction and other major budgetary units. In addition, budgets are maintained for a large number of renovation projects and for major new building projects.

The budget system is linked closely with the financial system [6], and the budget office staff members work closely with their counterparts from the Spectrum Office, Comptroller’s Office, Purchasing, Human Resources, and other academic and administrative units to effect budget management and control. Training is provided on an annual basis for key administrative personnel on the use of the budget system.

All university units and activities report ultimately either to the university President, the Provost or to one of the five vice presidents. Most budgetary and control measures can be resolved at the dean, director, or department-head levels. Major or university-wide budgetary control issues are resolved with the approval of either the university President, Provost, or the appropriate vice president.

The university currently uses an integrated accounting and budgeting system using PeopleSoft version 7.5 (Spectrum), which is overseen by Robert Stevens [7]. Spectrum incorporates budget, encumbrances, and expenditures. Its balance features can be set at the organizational level and budget-category type to affect the desired budget and cash controls. There is also roll-level security implemented on the Spectrum system and workflow set up throughout the university. [8] Pay-roll transactions are monitored regularly but can by-pass normal balance controls in cases where an administrative matter or timing delay could prevent an employee from being paid. Expenditures are reviewed on a regular basis [9]. 

The Comptroller’s Office [10], [11] is primarily responsible for establishing and communicating policies and procedures to ensure the proper and efficient use of university resources, receiving and depositing funds to the university, ensuring the prompt and proper settlement of accounts owed the university, and maintaining the university’s accounting and financial reporting systems, including the accounts-receivable and property subsystems.

Supporting Documentation:

  1. Vice President for Finance & Administration (CFO)
  2. Provost of the University
  3. Organizational Chart
  4. Budget Director: Chip Hill
  5. Associate VP Beth Jones
  6. Budget Guide
  7. Financial Systems Director
  8. Spectrum Security Information
  9. Internal Controls 
  10. Comptroller’s Office
  11. Comptroller